Emilio and Tour spent a few hours talking about their life. Even if Tuor couldn’t talk about the state of the Realm, he could still talk about his normal day to day life.
Without technology, the rest of the realm had a completely different culture in which people use most of their day in training either their Stats, Skills or profession. There were art forms, like live performances and literature, but nothing as massive as on Earth. In some ways, it was equivalent to the middle ages, but with a lot of development in what Tuor called ‘professions’.
Emilio tried to ask what those professions were, but the System considered it was part of the realm information, so it was banned.
On the other hand, Emilio talked more about the day to day on Earth, being especially careful on not saying how things were developed. Tuor was fascinated by their technology and stunned when he found out what a robot was. Not long after, he realized why most of the people thought he was a robot with the way he acted and, most likely, it happened to all Shopkeepers who were working on Earth. After all, it was a boring and repetitive job that lasted a month that the System paid at a high rate as long as they did the bare minimum.
After finishing the beers, Emilio decided to actually start with his responsibilities. Even if he drank, he was completely fine because his high Vitality metabolized the alcohol in his blood. If he wanted to get drunk, he could control it with Vitality Control, but he really needed to be sober for the future of his planet. The beer was a way to socialize with Tuor and to not keep the relationship purely professional, but he couldn’t take the chance of not being in his full capacity.
“Can I talk with you about something serious?” Emilio asked.
“Sure, what is going on?”
“I was kind of sent to engage with you by my higher ups to check if it was possible to make some diplomacy with your clan.”
“I guessed it might happen after I talked with you. What kind of higher ups are we talking about? The leader of your world?”
“Not quite, Earth is split into hundreds of countries, with a big amount of freedom. It’s common for big enterprises to participate in many of them, having business all around the world. I am part of one of those enterprises.”
“So a merchant empire? That is good, my clan is also a merchant clan. The ‘clan’ definition is because it is focused on the family.”
“So a clan is a family business. That is good to know.”
“In our case, it is. That is all I am allowed to say. How is the relationship between you and the governments? Can you talk in their place?”
“No, I can’t. With your information, we have become the number one when it comes to the System, but we can’t talk in the place of even one country and no one can in the place of the whole earth.”
“That makes a deal harder, what are you looking for in this deal?”
“On record or off the record?” Emilio asked, normally everything he said in these kinds of meetings was official, but he was not a politician, so he could behave in whatever way he wanted.
“What is the meaning of that?”
“Can I talk to you about this without being part of a real negotiation or do we make the whole bartering?”
Tuor smiled at the proposal, he could play politics and he had done that before, but he preferred someone like Emilio.
“We can leave it as a drinking talk without real implications for the moment. I would like to know what you really want. But also, what you can offer for a deal.”
“Wouldn’t that make it part of the deal?”
“Any kind of deal we can make has to rely on you trusting me,” Tuor explained. “I actually prefer to keep this casual. Just be honest, unless you want to play politics, something I can also do.”
“Casual it is,” Emilio decided without hesitation. “We are a planet that focused its development in technology, mercantilism and entertainment. We can offer you deals for products exclusive to our planet, both in technology and entertainment. Given what you told me about how you spend your free time, you will really love what we have to offer.”
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“Exclusive items are always an interesting proposal, but I will need to try them out.”
“I’m already working on it. I should be able to bring it to the next Trial. We have to adapt it to be able to use it in a place without our specific infrastructure.”
“If you can adapt them this quickly and export them, then this might work. Now, what do you really want?”
“It depends, if we can take control of the world with the System trials, then we want a business partner that can provide us with preferential deals and information.”
“That’s an easy yes, but the chance of that happening is low. What if you can’t?”
“We would like to keep our autonomy with you as a backer. Is it possible?”
“It would be really expensive and I can’t make that kind of decision. Also, I don’t really think it would be worth it for my clan.”
It’s possible, Emilio thought and he smiled. His biggest fear was Tuor saying he could not do it, not that it was expensive. He knew the worth of the entertainment industry and all he had to do was show enough so that Tuor couldn't come back.
“Wait until you become addicted to the entertainment industry and tell me again it is not worth it.”
Tuor raised an eyebrow at his comment, but did say anything. He really wanted to know what gave that kind of confidence to the man, but that would have to wait until the next week.
“That one will have to stay on hold,” Tuor concluded. “The most approachable possibility is my clan taking over and your planet becoming a subsidiary branch. And even for that, I will have to really convince my higher ups. To take over an integrated planet is really expensive and we might have to fight other powerhouses for it.”
Emilio’s face became sour with that comment. It seemed that some kind of invasion was almost guaranteed if they failed, which made his job even more important.
“I would prefer for us to keep our independence, we have a lot of history all over the world fighting for it.”
“I can offer that to you as a person, or even to give your company some independence. At the same time, talented people will always be well treated. But that is as far as we can go in this case.”
“What about having someone from our planet include regulations for the wellbeing of our people?”
“It will depend on the kind of regulations but some things can be added. Just for you to know, you will not get a better deal than this anywhere. Remember that I am from a merchant clan and value your technology. Most others will just invade you.”
Emilio sighed when he heard that. He knew he had pushed as far as he could without Tuor knowing what he was really offering.
“For now, let’s hope we can convince you to keep our independence with our test product.”
“Is this considered that you accept the terms?”
“For the moment, I do. I will have to bring the information back and see what I can do on Earth. What we really want is to have our independence assured.”
Tuor nodded at Emilio. He could understand his point of view, but he also knew just how expensive what he asked was.
“I guess this counts as a successful negotiation, right?”
“I guess. After all, you still need to test our products.”
Tuor smiled, knowing that maybe he had found the best person on the planet to have this talk. “Then I think we deserve a toast. And this time I will bring the liquor.” Tuor waved his hand and a small unbranded bottle appeared on the table. “Luckily, you already have 10 vitality or I would not be allowed to bring this out. I don’t have many drinks that a Rank 1 can drink, and all of them would influence your Stats, which would be blocked by the System. Given that you can’t raise your vitality anymore, I can share a bottle with you.”
“Why would I not be able to drink it? How do you make it increase Stats?” Emilio asked.
“You did realize you can’t get drunk with normal alcohol, didn't you? Well, the solution is spirit alcohol, that is made with plants and fruits that absorb World Energy while at the same time controlling the fermentation with Skills and Stats.”
“Could this be one of those professions?” Emilio asked.
“Can’t answer,” Tour refused to answer and served the glasses. “To a successful cooperation.”
Emilio looked at the drink he was served and it didn’t look special. It was translucent with a slight red tint, but he didn’t see anything weird. “To a successful cooperation.”
Emilio toasted and drank the whole glass in one sip. At that moment, he realized it was not something like the beer they were drinking before, but something similar to a hard liquor.
As it went through his throat, it burnt, but it felt soft at the same time. Even more, the burning sensation was not hot, but actually felt chilly. Emilio had to admit that it was one of the weirdest drinks he had ever had, but he didn’t dislike it.
When the alcohol reached his stomach, it instantly diffused all over his body as if his stomach didn’t have to digest it and when it did he felt completely drunk. The Vitality in his body tried to control it, but it really didn’t do much.
Something even weirder was that the alcohol was increasing his Vitality production. If he was not maxed out on the Stat, the drink would be helping him out for sure.
“What do you think?” Tuor asked, even if he already knew exactly what he was feeling.
“That I shamed myself with the beer,” Emilio admitted “What is thiiis? and why.. Why do I feeel moore drunk?”
“Ohh, this one has a bit of a delayed kick,” Tuor explained, enjoying the drunkenness of his company.
As the seconds went by, Emilio was feeling even more drunk, to the point of him seeing double and swinging in place. A few seconds later, he passed out.
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